231 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
231 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
---
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modeline: |
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vim: set ft=pandoc:
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description: |
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This VMware Packer builder is able to create VMware virtual machines from an
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existing VMware virtual machine (a VMX file). It currently supports building
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virtual machines on hosts running VMware Fusion Professional for OS X, VMware
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Workstation for Linux and Windows, and VMware Player on Linux.
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layout: docs
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page_title: 'VMware VMX - Builders'
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sidebar_current: 'docs-builders-vmware-vmx'
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---
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# VMware Builder (from VMX)
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Type: `vmware-vmx`
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This VMware Packer builder is able to create VMware virtual machines from an
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existing VMware virtual machine (a VMX file). It currently supports building
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virtual machines on hosts running [VMware Fusion
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Professional](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion-professional/) for OS X,
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[VMware Workstation](https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation/overview.html)
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for Linux and Windows, and [VMware
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Player](https://www.vmware.com/products/player/) on Linux.
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The builder builds a virtual machine by cloning the VMX file using the clone
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capabilities introduced in VMware Fusion Professional 6, Workstation 10, and
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Player 6. After cloning the VM, it provisions software within the new machine,
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shuts it down, and compacts the disks. The resulting folder contains a new
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VMware virtual machine.
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## Basic Example
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Here is an example. This example is fully functional as long as the source path
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points to a real VMX file with the proper settings:
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``` json
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{
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"type": "vmware-vmx",
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"source_path": "/path/to/a/vm.vmx",
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"ssh_username": "root",
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"ssh_password": "root",
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"shutdown_command": "shutdown -P now"
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}
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```
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## Configuration Reference
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There are many configuration options available for the VMware builder. They are
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organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within each
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category, the available options are alphabetized and described.
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In addition to the options listed here, a
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[communicator](/docs/templates/communicator.html) can be configured for this
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builder.
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### Required:
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- `source_path` (string) - Path to the source VMX file to clone.
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### Optional:
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- `boot_command` (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type
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when the virtual machine is first booted. The goal of these commands should
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be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special
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keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the
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boot command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will
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start itself.
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- `boot_wait` (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual
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machine before typing the `boot_command`. The value of this should be
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a duration. Examples are `5s` and `1m30s` which will cause Packer to wait
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five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't
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specified, the default is `10s` or 10 seconds.
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* `disable_vnc` (boolean) - Whether to create a VNC connection or not.
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A `boot_command` cannot be used when this is `false`. Defaults to `false`.
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- `floppy_dirs` (array of strings) - A list of directories to place onto
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the floppy disk recursively. This is similar to the `floppy_files` option
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except that the directory structure is preserved. This is useful for when
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your floppy disk includes drivers or if you just want to organize it's
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contents as a hierarchy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?, and \[\]) are allowed.
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- `floppy_files` (array of strings) - A list of files to place onto a floppy
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disk that is attached when the VM is booted. This is most useful for
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unattended Windows installs, which look for an `Autounattend.xml` file on
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removable media. By default, no floppy will be attached. All files listed in
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this setting get placed into the root directory of the floppy and the floppy
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is attached as the first floppy device. Currently, no support exists for
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creating sub-directories on the floppy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?,
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and \[\]) are allowed. Directory names are also allowed, which will add all
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the files found in the directory to the floppy.
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- `fusion_app_path` (string) - Path to "VMware Fusion.app". By default this is
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`/Applications/VMware Fusion.app` but this setting allows you to
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customize this.
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- `headless` (boolean) - Packer defaults to building VMware virtual machines
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by launching a GUI that shows the console of the machine being built. When
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this value is set to `true`, the machine will start without a console. For
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VMware machines, Packer will output VNC connection information in case you
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need to connect to the console to debug the build process.
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- `http_directory` (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an
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HTTP server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that
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will be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting
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kickstart files and so on. By default this is an empty string, which means
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no HTTP server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will
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be available as variables in `boot_command`. This is covered in more detail
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below.
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- `http_port_min` and `http_port_max` (number) - These are the minimum and
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maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the
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`http_directory`. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose
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a randomly available port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want
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to force the HTTP server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum
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port the same. By default the values are `8000` and `9000`, respectively.
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- `output_directory` (string) - This is the path to the directory where the
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resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute.
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If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when `packer`
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is executed. This directory must not exist or be empty prior to running
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the builder. By default this is `output-BUILDNAME` where "BUILDNAME" is the
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name of the build.
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- `shutdown_command` (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down the
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machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty
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string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine unless a
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shutdown command takes place inside script so this may safely be omitted. If
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one or more scripts require a reboot it is suggested to leave this blank
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since reboots may fail and specify the final shutdown command in your
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last script.
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- `shutdown_timeout` (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing the
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`shutdown_command` for the virtual machine to actually shut down. If it
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doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout is
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`5m` or five minutes.
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- `linked` (boolean) - Virtual machine is created a linked clone.
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Defaults to `false`.
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- `skip_compaction` (boolean) - VMware-created disks are defragmented and
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compacted at the end of the build process using `vmware-vdiskmanager`. In
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certain rare cases, this might actually end up making the resulting disks
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slightly larger. If you find this to be the case, you can disable compaction
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using this configuration value. Defaults to `false`.
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- `tools_upload_flavor` (string) - The flavor of the VMware Tools ISO to
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upload into the VM. Valid values are `darwin`, `linux`, and `windows`. By
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default, this is empty, which means VMware tools won't be uploaded.
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- `tools_upload_path` (string) - The path in the VM to upload the
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VMware tools. This only takes effect if `tools_upload_flavor` is non-empty.
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This is a [configuration
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template](/docs/templates/engine.html) that has a single
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valid variable: `Flavor`, which will be the value of `tools_upload_flavor`.
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By default the upload path is set to `{{.Flavor}}.iso`.
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- `vm_name` (string) - This is the name of the VMX file for the new virtual
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machine, without the file extension. By default this is `packer-BUILDNAME`,
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where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build.
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- `vmx_data` (object of key/value strings) - Arbitrary key/values to enter
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into the virtual machine VMX file. This is for advanced users who want to
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set properties such as memory, CPU, etc.
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- `vmx_data_post` (object of key/value strings) - Identical to `vmx_data`,
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except that it is run after the virtual machine is shutdown, and before the
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virtual machine is exported.
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- `vmx_remove_ethernet_interfaces` (boolean) - Remove all ethernet interfaces
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from the VMX file after building. This is for advanced users who understand
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the ramifications, but is useful for building Vagrant boxes since Vagrant
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will create ethernet interfaces when provisioning a box. Defaults to
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`false`.
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- `vnc_bind_address` (string / IP address) - The IP address that should be
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binded to for VNC. By default packer will use `127.0.0.1` for this. If you
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wish to bind to all interfaces use `0.0.0.0`.
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- `vnc_disable_password` (boolean) - Don't auto-generate a VNC password that
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is used to secure the VNC communication with the VM.
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- `vnc_port_min` and `vnc_port_max` (number) - The minimum and maximum port
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to use for VNC access to the virtual machine. The builder uses VNC to type
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the initial `boot_command`. Because Packer generally runs in parallel,
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Packer uses a randomly chosen port in this range that appears available. By
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default this is `5900` to `6000`. The minimum and maximum ports are
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inclusive.
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## Boot Command
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The `boot_command` configuration is very important: it specifies the keys to
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type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the OS
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installer. This command is typed after `boot_wait`.
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As documented above, the `boot_command` is an array of strings. The strings are
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all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability within the
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template.
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The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection to the
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machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard.
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-> Keystrokes are typed as separate key up/down events over VNC with a
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default 100ms delay. The delay alleviates issues with latency and CPU
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contention. For local builds you can tune this delay by specifying
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e.g. `PACKER_KEY_INTERVAL=10ms` to speed through the boot command.
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<%= partial "partials/builders/boot-command" %>
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Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start an
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Ubuntu 12.04 installer:
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``` text
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[
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"<esc><esc><enter><wait>",
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"/install/vmlinuz noapic ",
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"preseed/url=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/preseed.cfg ",
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"debian-installer=en_US auto locale=en_US kbd-chooser/method=us ",
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"hostname={{ .Name }} ",
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"fb=false debconf/frontend=noninteractive ",
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"keyboard-configuration/modelcode=SKIP keyboard-configuration/layout=USA ",
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"keyboard-configuration/variant=USA console-setup/ask_detect=false ",
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"initrd=/install/initrd.gz -- <enter>"
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]
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```
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For more examples of various boot commands, see the sample projects from our
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[community templates page](/community-tools.html#templates).
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